Andrew Edward Anson (born) is a British businessman primarily known for his work in the sports and media industries.[1] He is the CEO of the British Olympic Association and chairman of Lancashire Cricket Club, where he has encountered protests from the members. Prior to joining, Anson was president of Fanatics International (formerly Kitbag), where he spent five-and-a-half years.
The son of a bank manager, Anson was born at the Boundary Park Hospital in Oldham, Lancashire, and grew up in nearby Rochdale.[2] He began playing football at a young age and, despite being a fan of Manchester United, played for Manchester City's schoolboys team after being spotted in a game for the Oulder Hill School team.[2] He did not pursue football as a professional career and earned a place at Exeter College, Oxford, where he attained a second-class degree in mathematics, sharing a tutorial with child genius Ruth Lawrence at one stage.[2] He continued to play football at university, however, and eventually earned his Blue.[2]
After leaving Oxford, Anson returned to the north-west of England to work for Andersen Consulting, where he represented various clients, including North West Water.[2] However, in the early 1990s, he left Andersen to enrol on a Master of Business Administration (MBA) course at INSEAD in Fontainebleau.[2] To cope with the costs of attending INSEAD, Anson returned to consulting at the end of the course, working for the Kalchas Group.[2] However, he was soon headhunted by The Walt Disney Company, and he moved to Los Angeles for three-and-a-half years, working for Disney's consumer products division. In this capacity, he was responsible for the licensing of all clothes and toys for the company. During Anson's time in the consumer products division, the company generated $7 billion in revenue, and he was promoted to the position of chief financial officer.[2]
At the end of his time with Disney, Anson returned to the UK, where he took a position as Channel 4's Head of Strategic Planning. He later became the managing director of Channel 4 Interactive.[3] While at Channel 4, Anson was heavily involved in the launch of its sister channel, E4.[2] In 2002, Anson left Channel 4 to work at the London office of management consulting firm, OC&C Strategy Consultants, becoming a partner in the company, responsible for Media and Entertainment.[2]
Anson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to sport, particularly during COVID-19.
In 2003, Anson was approached by his childhood football club, Manchester United, to become their new Commercial Director in the wake of David Gill's promotion to chief executive, after Peter Kenyon departed to Chelsea.[2] The appointment was confirmed in December 2003,[3] and Anson started work in February 2004.[2] While at Manchester United, he was responsible for signing the club's then-record shirt sponsorship deal with AIG.[4]
In March 2007, Anson became the new chief executive of the Association of Tennis Professionals in Europe (ATP Europe), replacing the outgoing Horst Klosterkemper. He remained in the role for two and a half years. He also served as chairman of the ATP Finals at The O2 Arena in London and co-CEO of the ATP Champions Tour, a tournament for former professional players.
In 2008, Anson was named as the chief executive of England 2018 Ltd, the company behind The Football Association's bid to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[5] He began work in his new position on 1 January 2009[6] and remained in the position until the company dissolved in 2011 following the unsuccessful bid results.[7] The England 2018 bid received recognition as the best all round technical bid[8] However, England lost out to Russia in a process beset by corruption, leading to Anson criticising FIFA president Sepp Blatter for influencing the members of the committee that voted on the World Cup hosts against the English bid.[9]
After a short break, in the summer of 2011, Anson was appointed chief executive of sports retailer Kitbag.[10] In February 2016, following the successful turnaround of Kitbag, Anson oversaw the sale of the business to US market leader Fanatics.[11] He remained with the business for 12 months ensuring the successful transition.[12]
On 1 March 2017, Anson was appointed global president of Teneo Sports, the sports arm of New York-based international C-suite advisory firm and investment banking platform Teneo.
April 2018 saw Andy appointed as CEO of Goals Soccer Centres plc
Anson has also served as a non-executive director of Belfast-based UTV Media, the British Olympic Association and the Racecourse Media Group.
Anson was appointed chair of Lancashire County Cricket Club in 2020 after the death of David Hodgkiss from COVID. Anson's appointment was ratified at the 2021 AGM.
Anson inherited a long standing protest from Lancashire members about the lack of democratic representation within the club. A request for two member elected board posts and member elections for the Member Representation Group hitherto chosen by club management was declined in October 2021. Members tabled motions to the 2022 AGM to put the matter to a vote. Lancashire agreed a compromise that saw one member elected board role and the promise that future Member Representation Group appointments would be made by member elections.
Faced with further member discontent about the planned reforms to English cricket, Lancashire's board called a Special General Meeting for 30th August 2022. Lancashire then cancelled the meeting after members had voted by post and conceded that they would give members a binding vote on any future changes to the domestic schedule. Members continued to push for a Special General Meeting and one was eventually held on 12 October. The Club won the main motion by 898 votes to 610 but made the following statement "Following discussion at the SGM, we are concerned about the feeling within a relatively small but, nonetheless, significant group of our Members that the Club does not engage enough with them, and we will work hard to rectify this. We will seek to find appropriate ways of improving the effectiveness of our two-way communication."
In April 2023, Lancashire faced further criticism from its members over its handling of board member selection and changes to the definition of a voting member. In response, Lancashire promised to increases the number of member elected board members from 1 to 2 and to hold a member forum on the terms for membership.
In 2024, the Lancashire board faced a vote of reprimand from Lancashire members for failing to keep their promises to members to hold a member forum. At the AGM on 27 May the Lancashire members voted to reprimand the Board by a margin of 55% for to 45% against. Around a third of Lancashire members voted against Anson's re-election to the Board but he was re-elected for a further 3 year term.